International Blue Whiting Spawning Stock Survey (IBWSS) Spring 2013

Coordination of the survey was initiated in the meeting of the Working Group on International Pelagic Surveys (WGIPS) and continued by correspondence until the start of the survey. During the survey, updates on vessel positions and trawl activities were collated by the survey coordinator and distributed to the participants twice daily. Norway did not participate in the survey this year. The survey design used and described in ICES (2012) allowed for a flexible setup of transects and good coverage of the spawning aggregations. Due to acceptable - good weather conditions throughout the survey period, the survey resulted in a high quality coverage of the stock. Transects of all vessels were consistent in spatial coverage and timing, delivering full coverage of the respective distribution areas within 19 days